In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Doves
waltermoe
Member Posts: 2,302 ✭✭✭✭
Anyone else been dove hunting lately? This has been a good year here in West Central Illinois. We didn’t have a lot of storms here this summer around where I’m at, and I think most of doves survived.
PS, If your not a dove hunter my advise is don’t take it up, it can become an addiction.
Comments
Not much chance of me taking it up because Michigan has had a dove hunting ban for more than 100 years. The liberal greenie weenie bambi huggers that tell us to follow the science, classify them as songbirds and not migratory game birds like everyone else. 😡 Bob
When the year is just right and you catch the right field, there is nothing I'd rather hunt. Unfortunately, that seems to happen for us about once every 15 years. It's also the only type of hunting that, within reason, more hunters is a positive. When we started out, we'd hunt large fields with just a couple/few of us and we'd get a shot when they came in, and a shot of them leaving. That was it. With people around the field, especially if they really want your field, they will circle and circle trying to find a place giving lots of opportunity.
...Good season so far in Texas North/Central zones...a good cold front would move some birds in ...hunting over natural food source, Dove weed & Sunflowers are good... cut grain if you can find it, Milo & Maze...but drought has hurt crops....stock tanks are good since its been so dry, catch 'em coming in for mid-day and evening water...limit is 15 a day...yes it can be and is addicting ...its not been as blame hot as it usually is the first half of season, only 80's & 90's, thats been GREAT since 100+ is the norm this time of year...enough birds flying you can get a lot of doubles...trips if you shoot a semi...but that third one is tough with 'em flying so fast ...I live for Dove & Quail season, well deer too...but love shooting them birds😁...
...bambihunter...
.."It's also the only type of hunting that, within reason, more hunters is a positive. When we started out, we'd hunt large fields with just a couple/few of us and we'd get a shot when they came in, and a shot of them leaving. That was it. With people around the field, especially if they really want your field, they will circle and circle trying to find a place giving lots of opportunity."
...A few years back, bunch of us were about to load up in the motor home and head out when the rancher called and said "no hunting this year boys"...crap, its 3:00 in the morning, eight of us ready and no place to freakin' hunt on opening day!...by chance a buddy called a rancher he knew and for $20 bucks we could hunt his place...off we go...hunted a HUGE field in Alvord Texas, LOTS of hunters, I mean LOTS....paid our $20 and went to our spot...birds started at dawn and flew constantly, being stirred up...FLOCKS of 30-40+ birds circling the field...most Doves Ive ever seen in my life other than in Mexico....all eight of us limited out in at most, an hour 😁...I talked a couple of friends into going, who hadnt been with us, of course I was drooling as I told them about all the birds...got there, paid, and went to our appointed spot...I saw ONE bird by noon, shot it, my friends saw zero, zip....thousands of birds gone in 3-4 days...hadnt been a cold front so guess all the shooting moved 'em out...or they were killed out in that 3-4 days...
We have Eurasain doves along with Morning Doves ,,,,,, the wildlife dept wants the Eurasain doves eradicated and you can hunt them 24/7 with any means possible, all year. They’re quite a bit larger than the Morning Dove but almost as challenging.
Started with me about 40 years ago. A friend came out and we were just talking and he said something about you got a lot of doves flying around here, next thing he got his shogun out of the trunk of his car, so I got mine out of the house. After about 45 minutes we were both in the car running to the store to buy more shells and shoot more doves.
I’ve heard stories and read about dove hunting in Mexico. But the way things are now I don’t know if I would want to try going there taking a gun.
They say that there are Eurasian doves around here but I haven’t got one yet, would like to get one and compare the size, or I’ve got one in the past and didn’t recognize it.
As far as calling a dove a song bird and not a migratory bird; well I guess you could classify that under, some people are stupid.
Not likely to get out this year....but sure would like to...
Used to Dove hunt near Peoria, Il. many years ago. One of the guy's mothers was from Louisiana. Breasted them out and gave them to her and WOW. Every week-end she made a different "gravy" with rice to serve with these and just WOW😛
Morning doves and Bob White quail are the only 2 things I care to hunt/shoot, I like the challenge each brings.....and the meat 😊
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
We've got those as well as white wing.
KDWP lets us hunt both year round. No bag limit, just need to have your hunting license. I've got several places within a 30-40 minute drive where I hunt feral pigeon during the summer. Eurasian collard and white wing dove are a bonus during those outings.
Yeah, the collard are sure tough ,,,,,, never ate one.
I have never dove hunted I understand they fast and make a challenge in doing so.
when I was just a young fellow I had a aunt that lived in Kal ( she passed on some years ago RIP her kids and grand kids maybe great grand kids by now still live there I have no idea how many or even who they are . I think she was married 4 times ) any way one of my aunts husbands " Herman" and I seem to recall he was the best liked by the commoners of the family her in Ohio LOL ) I I thing he was # 2 on the list . they came to visit I was about 10 yrs old he was saying how much he loved dove hunting
at that time I thought he was nuts to me I could not see why they were not big enough eat and when you blast it with a shotgun has to be little left . I just assumed it was about just the hunting part but he said he liked them cooked up how ever he did that . he was the only person I can remember even talking about dove hunting
my guess he was a out cast of the west coast family OMG he actually hunting and owning a gun , I would wager all the rest are total sheeple by now and drink heavy from the kool aid pitcher ever day . based on the last time I talked to a cousin about 20 some years ago who still lives there sorry got off track
I have just been up all night sleepless and rambling on 🤐
Not only are doves fast ( 45 to 55 mph ) they zig and zag, it is almost like they can see the shot coming and dive out of the way. They are good eating, but it takes 3 or 4 per person to make a meal. There are I imagine hundreds of ways to cook them, I have tried several ways but for my self, I like to use garlic and fry them, then use a cream of chicken and simmer them 30 or 40 minutes, then serve them with mashed potatoes and using the cream of chick as the gravy.
It's good to shoot the collared doves to get rid of them.Their breasts are much larger than Mourning Doves,but can't compare for flavor and tenderness.I consider them inedible.
Memories of eating wild game at the dinner table and having a small side dish for dropping the lead shot into after biting down on it! 😁
After cleaning and rinsing the breast I use an ice pick to push through the entrance wound to try and remove any shot or feathers. Your right shot can be hard on the teeth. That’s why I like using 7 1/2 shot rather than 8 shot seems to pass though better than 8 shot.
Where I used to live we had more doves than I could shoo away.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Dove season is going on right now in Missouri. I'm seeing Doves everywhere. They are really skittish though out here in the sticks. I should go hunt them.
I remember coming home and a day or 2 later many times the upper right part of my shoulder/chest would be black & blue! We also AWAYS used a dog to retrieve. VERY difficult to find with out one!
Went once so far this year. Saw three doves crossing the road as we were going home skunked. In my other dove hunting experience with a .410, two boxes of shells got me two doves. Gave them to a partner who did a little better.
He Dog, I know the feeling. That’s why I said for years that when all is said and done, dove meat comes to about $30 a pound. LOL. So far this year 35 doves after this morning, I’ll count the box’s of shells after season ends. I’ve used a 410 before, makes it challenging, but is rewarding if successful, and easier on the shoulder.
Doves are like hens teeth around here these days. Last 3 PAID hunts I went in probably netted 20 do es total🥺 Back in the day we could kill 12 each on a harvested field(NOT plant for doves). Now you can plant everything just for doves and still won't see many.
I am not the best wing shooter in the world . Up until this year I would at least go on opening day and at least try to shoot at one .It was more to "open" " hunting season than anything else This year I never left the house .